-
The longest journey
that I have ever taken.
-
That was in 2002.
-
I was only 19-years-old.
-
It was the first time I had ever
been on an airplane
-
and the first time
that I had left my country,
-
Rwanda.
-
I had to move thousands of kilometers away
-
to follow a dream.
-
A dream I have had
ever since I was a child.
-
And that dream was to become an architect.
-
That was impossible
at the time in my country.
-
There were no schools of architecture.
-
So when I got a scholarship
to study in China,
-
I left my life and my family behind
-
and I moved to Shanghai.
-
It was an amazing time.
-
This country was going through
a major building boom.
-
Shanghai,
-
my new home,
-
was quickly turning
into a skyscraper city.
-
China was changing.
-
World-class projects were built
to convey a new image of development.
-
Modern, striking engineering marvels
were going up literally everywhere.
-
But behind these facades,
-
exploitation of huge numbers
of migrant workers,
-
massive displacement
of thousands of people
-
made these projects possible.
-
And this fast-paced development
also contributed significantly
-
to the pollution
that is haunting China today.
-
Fast-forward to 2010,
-
when I went back home to Rwanda.
-
There I found development patterns
similar to what I saw in China.
-
The country was and still is experiencing
its own population and economic growth.
-
The pressure to build cities,
infrastructure and buildings
-
is at its peak,
-
and as a result,
-
there is a massive building boom as well.
-
This is the reality across
the entire continent of Africa,
-
and here's why.
-
By 2050, Africa's population will double,
-
reaching 2.5 billion people.
-
At this point,
-
the African population will be
slightly less than the current population
-
of China and India combined.
-
The infrastructure and buildings needed
to accommodate this many people
-
is unprecedented
in the history of humankind.
-
We have estimated that by 2050,
-
we'll have to build
700,000,000 more housing units,
-
more than 300,000 schools
-
and nearly 100,000 health centers.
-
Let me put that into perspective for you.
-
Every day for the next 35 years,
-
we have to build seven health centers,
-
25 schools
-
and nearly 60,000 housing units each day,
-
every day.
-
How are we going to build all of this?
-
Are we going to follow a model
of unsustainable building and construction
-
similar to what I witnessed in China?
-
Or can we develop a uniquely African model
-
of sustainable and equitable development?
-
I'm optimistic we can.
-
I know Africans who are already doing it.
-
Take Nigerian architect
Kunlé Adeyemi for instance,
-
and his work in slums
of coastal megacities.
-
Places like Makoko in Lagos,
-
where hundreds of thousands of people
live in makeshift structures on stilts
-
on water,
-
without government
infrastructure or services.
-
A community at great risk
of rising sea levels and climate change.
-
And yet, people who live here
are examples of great ingenuity
-
and the will to survive.
-
Not Synced
Kunlé and his team have designed
a prototype school
-
Not Synced
that is resilient to rising sea levels.
-
Not Synced
This is Makoko School.
-
Not Synced
It's a floating prototype structure
that can be adapted to clinics,
-
Not Synced
to housing,
-
Not Synced
to markets
-
Not Synced
and other vital infrastructure
this community needs.
-
Not Synced
It's an ingenious solution
-
Not Synced
that can ensure this community
lives safely on the waters of Lagos.
-
Not Synced
This is Francis Kéré.
-
Not Synced
He works in the country he comes from,
-
Not Synced
Burkina Faso.
-
Not Synced
Kéré and his team have designed projects
that use traditional building techniques.
-
Not Synced
Kéré and his team working
in the communities
-
Not Synced
have developed prototype schools
-
Not Synced
that the whole community,
-
Not Synced
similar to every project
in the villages of this country,
-
Not Synced
come together to build.
-
Not Synced
Children bring stones for the foundation,
-
Not Synced
women bring water
for the brick manufacturing
-
Not Synced
and everybody works together
to pound the clay floors.
-
Not Synced
Working with the community,
-
Not Synced
Kéré and his team have created
projects that function better,
-
Not Synced
with adequate lighting
and adequate ventilation.
-
Not Synced
They're appropriate
[for] this particular context
-
Not Synced
and really, really beautiful as well.
-
Not Synced
For the past seven years,
-
Not Synced
I have been working as an architect
at MASS Design Group.
-
Not Synced
It's a design firm that began in Rwanda.
-
Not Synced
We have worked
in several countries in Africa,
-
Not Synced
focusing on this more equitable
and sustainable model
-
Not Synced
of architectural practice,
-
Not Synced
and Malawi is one of those countries.
-
Not Synced
It's a country with beautiful,
remote landscapes
-
Not Synced
with high-peak mountains
and fertile valleys.
-
Not Synced
But it also has one of the worst
maternal mortality rates in the world.
-
Not Synced
A pregnant woman in Malawi
either gives birth at home,
-
Not Synced
or she has to walk a really long journey
to the nearest clinic.
-
Not Synced
And one out of 36 of these mothers
dies during childbirth.
-
Not Synced
In Malawi,
-
Not Synced
with our team and MASS design group,
-
Not Synced
we designed the Kasungu
Maternity Waiting Vllage.
-
Not Synced
This is a place women come to
six weeks before their due dates.
-
Not Synced
Here they receive prenatal care
-
Not Synced
and train in nutrition
and family planning.
-
Not Synced
At the same time,
-
Not Synced
they form a community with other
expectant mothers and their families.
-
Not Synced
The design of the of Kasungu
Maternity Waiting Village
-
Not Synced
borrows from the vernacular
typologies of Malawi villages,
-
Not Synced
and is built using really simple
materials and technniques.
-
Not Synced
The earth blocks that we used we made
from the same soil of this site.
-
Not Synced
This reduces the carbon footprint
of this building,
-
Not Synced
but first and foremost,
-
Not Synced
it provides a safe and dignified space
for these expecting mothers.
-
Not Synced
These examples show that architecture
and design have the power and the agency
-
Not Synced
to address complex problems.
-
Not Synced
But more to point,
-
Not Synced
that we can develop a model
of effective solutions
-
Not Synced
for our communities.
-
Not Synced
But these three examples are not enough.
-
Not Synced
300 more examples will not be enough.
-
Not Synced
We need a whole community
of African architects and designers
-
Not Synced
to lead with thousands more examples.
-
Not Synced
In .... this year,
-
Not Synced
we convened a symposium
on African architecture
-
Not Synced
in Kilgari,
-
Not Synced
and we invited many
of the leading African designers
-
Not Synced
and architectural educators
working across the continent.
-
Not Synced
We all had one thing in common.
-
Not Synced
Every single one of us
went to school abroad
-
Not Synced
and outside of Africa.
-
Not Synced
This has to change.
-
Not Synced
If we are to develop
solutions unique to us,
-
Not Synced
rather than attempting to turn
Kigali into Beijing,
-
Not Synced
or Lagos in the Szenchen,
-
Not Synced
we need a community
-
Not Synced
that will build the design confidence
of the next generation
-
Not Synced
of African architects and designers.
-
Not Synced
(Applause)
-
Not Synced
In September last year,
-
Not Synced
we launched the African Design Centre
-
Not Synced
to start building this community.
-
Not Synced
We admitted 11 fellows
from across the continent.
-
Not Synced
it's a 20-month-long design-build
fellowship program.
-
Not Synced
Here, they are learning to tackle
big challenges such as ubanism
-
Not Synced
and climate change.
-
Not Synced
As Kunlé and [...] have,
-
Not Synced
they're working with communities
to develop innovative building solutions
-
Not Synced
and processes,
-
Not Synced
as Karé and [....] have.
-
Not Synced
They're learning to understand
the health impact of better buildings
-
Not Synced
as we at MASS Design Group
have been researching
-
Not Synced
for the past several years.
-
Not Synced
The crowning moment of the fellowship
-
Not Synced
is a real project
that they designed and built.
-
Not Synced
This is [Rohehe] Primary School,
-
Not Synced
the project they designed.
-
Not Synced
They immersed themselves in the community
to understand the challenges
-
Not Synced
but also uncover opportunities,
-
Not Synced
like using a wall
made of local volcanic stone
-
Not Synced
to turn the entire campus
into a space of play and active learning.
-
Not Synced
The evaluated the environmental conditions
-
Not Synced
and developed a roof system
that maximizes the light
-
Not Synced
and improves acoustic performance.
-
Not Synced
The construction at [...] Primary School
will begin this year.
-
Not Synced
(Applause)
-
Not Synced
And over the coming months,
-
Not Synced
the African Design Centre fellows
are going to work hand-in-hand
-
Not Synced
with the [Roheo] community to build it.
-
Not Synced
When we asked the fellows
-
Not Synced
what they want to do after
their African Design Centre fellowship,
-
Not Synced
[Mark Teppo] from South Africa said
-
Not Synced
he wants to introduce this new
way of building in his country,
-
Not Synced
so he plans to open a private
practive in Johannesburg.
-
Not Synced
Zani wants to expand opportunites
for women to become engineers.
-
Not Synced
Before joining the African Design Centre,
-
Not Synced
she helped start in Nairobi,
-
Not Synced
an organization to bridge the gaps
for women in engineering fields,
-
Not Synced
and she hopes to take
this movement across Africa,
-
Not Synced
eventually the whole world.
-
Not Synced
Moses from South Sudan,
-
Not Synced
the world's newest country,
-
Not Synced
wants to open the first polytechnic school
-
Not Synced
that will teach people how to build
using local materials from his country.
-
Not Synced
Moses had to be determined
to become an architect.
-
Not Synced
The civil war in his country frequently
interrupted his architectural education.
-
Not Synced
At the time he was applying
to the African Design Centre,
-
Not Synced
we could hear gunshots going off
in the background of his interview call.
-
Not Synced
But even in the middle of this civil war,
-
Not Synced
Moses hangs on to this idea
that architecture can be a way
-
Not Synced
to bridge communities back together.
-
Not Synced
You have to be inspired
by this fellow's belief
-
Not Synced
that great architecture
can make a difference
-
Not Synced
on how the future of Africa is built.
-
Not Synced
The unprecedented growth of Africa
cannot be ignored.
-
Not Synced
Imagine Africa's future cities,
-
Not Synced
but not as vast slums,
-
Not Synced
but the most resilient
-
Not Synced
and the most socially inclusive
places on earth.
-
Not Synced
This is achievable.
-
Not Synced
And we have the talent
to make it a reality.
-
Not Synced
But the journey to ready that talent
for the task ahead,
-
Not Synced
like my own journey,
-
Not Synced
is far too long.
-
Not Synced
For the next generation
of African creative leaders,
-
Not Synced
we have to shorten
and streamline that journey.
-
Not Synced
But most importantly --
-
Not Synced
and I cannot stress this enough --
-
Not Synced
we have to build their design confidence
-
Not Synced
and empower them to develop solutions
that are truly African
-
Not Synced
but globally inspiring.
-
Not Synced
Thank you very much.
-
Not Synced
(Applause)